TheMightySpork
This review contains spoilers
For an experience that got me hooked for at least 60 hours to end up being 3,5 stars is somewhat of a remarkable achievement.
There is clearly a lot to like here , especially for a guy like me who basically just needs to have a functioning turn-based combat system to be sated.
The ost is fantastic and might even be my favorite in the series, the exploration is fun and we might need more protagonists whose main mode of moving around is Naruto-running at mach speeds.
A special mention to all the new demons and their designs because they are indeed splendid. They certainly were cooking especially with the 4 genuinely terrifying prostitutes which terrorize the beginning of the game.
Now then onwards to the not so very good.
Perhaps this is somewhat weird but the game breaks itself. For a series that genuinely kicked my ass for the majority of the games that I have played, SMT Vengeance puts up no resistance. While playing I had to restrain myself multiple times from going too crazy with the mechanics because the game would have been a snoozefest for the last 20 hours or so. Throw all the guaranteed crits and broken almighty spells back in the garbage bin where they belong (they do look cool though).
My second and biggest gripe is the story. Now I don't care much for SMT stories. The concepts of Law and Chaos are of course overplayed but they are lovingly baked into the very essence of SMT so this iteration of them was fine. Characters are your usual suspects of teenagers going from somewhat normal to extremists willing to murder their best friends for power in about 5 seconds. All of which are normal procedure.
But by god does nobody care in this game. The stakes are at an all-time low.
Your MC saunters up to a completely empty room besides the one character which represents the opposing faction , beats the brakes off them with whatever broken build he fancies and becomes the new creator.
Where are the epic showdowns with demons and humans alike that have been transformed to ugly monstrosities and whose only remaining braincell functions solely to beat your puny cheeks and achieve their one dimensional endgoal?
Even the good people of Tokyo themselves don't have the decency to get wiped out and provide a solid excuse for tragedy and the willingness to change the world.
The opposing demons that are supposed to compete with you to ascend to absolute godhood just smile after you beat them and say "well you got me there old chum" and just walk off. Because they don't care and nobody else does either.
It may sound stupid but I want SMT to be a powertrip. I want them to look at my MC that got their ass kicked through a grueling SMT experience and cower in fear. This is your new god now.
None of this is going to come from this game, neither in difficulty or in sheer epicness that the journeys of other games provide.
There is clearly a lot to like here , especially for a guy like me who basically just needs to have a functioning turn-based combat system to be sated.
The ost is fantastic and might even be my favorite in the series, the exploration is fun and we might need more protagonists whose main mode of moving around is Naruto-running at mach speeds.
A special mention to all the new demons and their designs because they are indeed splendid. They certainly were cooking especially with the 4 genuinely terrifying prostitutes which terrorize the beginning of the game.
Now then onwards to the not so very good.
Perhaps this is somewhat weird but the game breaks itself. For a series that genuinely kicked my ass for the majority of the games that I have played, SMT Vengeance puts up no resistance. While playing I had to restrain myself multiple times from going too crazy with the mechanics because the game would have been a snoozefest for the last 20 hours or so. Throw all the guaranteed crits and broken almighty spells back in the garbage bin where they belong (they do look cool though).
My second and biggest gripe is the story. Now I don't care much for SMT stories. The concepts of Law and Chaos are of course overplayed but they are lovingly baked into the very essence of SMT so this iteration of them was fine. Characters are your usual suspects of teenagers going from somewhat normal to extremists willing to murder their best friends for power in about 5 seconds. All of which are normal procedure.
But by god does nobody care in this game. The stakes are at an all-time low.
Your MC saunters up to a completely empty room besides the one character which represents the opposing faction , beats the brakes off them with whatever broken build he fancies and becomes the new creator.
Where are the epic showdowns with demons and humans alike that have been transformed to ugly monstrosities and whose only remaining braincell functions solely to beat your puny cheeks and achieve their one dimensional endgoal?
Even the good people of Tokyo themselves don't have the decency to get wiped out and provide a solid excuse for tragedy and the willingness to change the world.
The opposing demons that are supposed to compete with you to ascend to absolute godhood just smile after you beat them and say "well you got me there old chum" and just walk off. Because they don't care and nobody else does either.
It may sound stupid but I want SMT to be a powertrip. I want them to look at my MC that got their ass kicked through a grueling SMT experience and cower in fear. This is your new god now.
None of this is going to come from this game, neither in difficulty or in sheer epicness that the journeys of other games provide.
Surprisingly fun little platformer that fills your DKC needs while being quite a bit more forgiving and smooth then those games were.
The main thing I wish to applaud here is the level design which had quite a few nifty ideas.
I might go back and do all the time trials and no-hit runs but for now I'm quite satisfied with a cosy and at times quite challenging little platforming experience.
The main thing I wish to applaud here is the level design which had quite a few nifty ideas.
I might go back and do all the time trials and no-hit runs but for now I'm quite satisfied with a cosy and at times quite challenging little platforming experience.
This is an absolute unit of a mystery game that was probably too ambitious for it's own good. The conclusion after about 17 hours of intense debating about theories with my friend was decidedly mediocre (which is probably a generous statement).
Disregarding the ending and despite somewhat questionable writing and puzzles at times, I can only see the time spent as very worthwhile.
I'd say my favorite parts were the atmosphere and the mystique and folklore associated with curses and getting to know an interesting set of characters (very) slowly unraveling horrors and mysteries ranging from last week to nearly 2 centuries ago.
This is one of those games that will stick with me. Not because it is the greatest to ever do it but because of that feeling of suspense and the fun of bouncing ideas about pretty abstract concepts with a good friend.
Thus in conclusion, give it a shot the vibes are immaculate and there's a delinquent dove sticker by the name of High Coo.
Disregarding the ending and despite somewhat questionable writing and puzzles at times, I can only see the time spent as very worthwhile.
I'd say my favorite parts were the atmosphere and the mystique and folklore associated with curses and getting to know an interesting set of characters (very) slowly unraveling horrors and mysteries ranging from last week to nearly 2 centuries ago.
This is one of those games that will stick with me. Not because it is the greatest to ever do it but because of that feeling of suspense and the fun of bouncing ideas about pretty abstract concepts with a good friend.
Thus in conclusion, give it a shot the vibes are immaculate and there's a delinquent dove sticker by the name of High Coo.
2017
I really can't remember the last time I got this emotional for any form of media. Recent events in my personal life make many of these stories so heartwarming and relatable that it hurts.
2023
This review contains spoilers
Kinda split on this one. The combat while pretty interesting at first becomes a slog pretty quickly and the story and characters didn't really hit that hard either. Learning about the clichéd and tragic life of a meek politician didn't really interest me and by the time the only 3 bosses in the game were rehashed to become one large blockade to the final boss I was fully done with it. It also doesn't help that even the highest difficulty lacks real challenge.
That being said I do enjoy the unique style and flair the game brought and lining up big heat actions to wipe out full squads was pretty cool. I just can't bring myself to give it more than 3 stars since I did enjoy myself for a decent chunk until the monotony and lack of enemy variety hit me fully.
That being said I do enjoy the unique style and flair the game brought and lining up big heat actions to wipe out full squads was pretty cool. I just can't bring myself to give it more than 3 stars since I did enjoy myself for a decent chunk until the monotony and lack of enemy variety hit me fully.
2023
A game will always be special when it allows you to look at something from a fresh perspective. Chants of Sennaar made me take an in-depth look at how language is structured and conveyed and how context can be used to discern certain language patterns and phrases.
I certainly recommend this unique experience to anyone looking for another fresh take on the puzzle genre.
I certainly recommend this unique experience to anyone looking for another fresh take on the puzzle genre.
What a fun game.
I am not into Marvel movies at all but the original "Guardians of the Galaxy" was one of the few that I remember liking so I figured I'd give the game a chance.
Now in classic Marvel-style these characters simply do not stop yapping.
Every second not spent dropping hilarious one-liners is wasted and it did get on my nerves quite a bit. The combat was also a little tedious but there was more than enough spicy stuff going on for that to not really matter.
I very much enjoyed the story and the setting . The characters were as fantastic as I remember them and by god the soundtrack is amazing. Not to mention the positively vibrant scenery in every location. I loved all the little lore drops that could be discovered to learn more about everyone and their motivations.
Overall I had a great time with this game and while it is flawed enough for me to not give it more than 4 stars, I'll still fondly remember it.
I am not into Marvel movies at all but the original "Guardians of the Galaxy" was one of the few that I remember liking so I figured I'd give the game a chance.
Now in classic Marvel-style these characters simply do not stop yapping.
Every second not spent dropping hilarious one-liners is wasted and it did get on my nerves quite a bit. The combat was also a little tedious but there was more than enough spicy stuff going on for that to not really matter.
I very much enjoyed the story and the setting . The characters were as fantastic as I remember them and by god the soundtrack is amazing. Not to mention the positively vibrant scenery in every location. I loved all the little lore drops that could be discovered to learn more about everyone and their motivations.
Overall I had a great time with this game and while it is flawed enough for me to not give it more than 4 stars, I'll still fondly remember it.
My expectations were just about a solid Ace Attorney-clone and that's what I got. I was surprised by the setting and the characters however.
Music was also excellent and especially the later cases had some unique twists to them that made the experience pretty entertaining.
I enjoyed myself quite a bit and scratching that "Ace Attorney" itch is always a satisfying experience.
The ending makes me think that future installments could be very much in the works and a lot more grandiose than the first game so I'll be on the look-out for any new releases in the future.
Music was also excellent and especially the later cases had some unique twists to them that made the experience pretty entertaining.
I enjoyed myself quite a bit and scratching that "Ace Attorney" itch is always a satisfying experience.
The ending makes me think that future installments could be very much in the works and a lot more grandiose than the first game so I'll be on the look-out for any new releases in the future.
2023
Good times before the boredom set in.
They do a good job of attempting to stave it off with a whole bucketlist of different things to do which I can appreciate.
Mainly a surprisingly deep story and some interesting characters with some dope fishes.
I'd certainly recommend this to anyone looking for a cosy fishing experience that can suck up a few hours and I'm looking forward to coming back whenever this genre strikes my fancy again.
They do a good job of attempting to stave it off with a whole bucketlist of different things to do which I can appreciate.
Mainly a surprisingly deep story and some interesting characters with some dope fishes.
I'd certainly recommend this to anyone looking for a cosy fishing experience that can suck up a few hours and I'm looking forward to coming back whenever this genre strikes my fancy again.
2023
I really wanted to like this game and I think 3 stars still indicates a decent game.
The good : the music, the gorgeous art and the young GOAT warrior cook.
The meh : The battle system which starts off great and does somewhat entertain the entire game by forcing you to time your buttons but ultimately is very stale as most abilities remain the exact same the entire time.
I also add the puzzles here since I somewhat liked them at the start but it turned to just be so many different block puzzles and utilizing the sparse movement tools that you have to reach otherwise unreachable areas.
The bad : By god this story is awful outside of a couple cool moments.
The later parts are just littered with unexplained power-ups, a whole library of JRPG clichés and could in general be described as the most generic story ever written. Top it all off with a weirdly abrupt final boss and sudden ascension to godhood and voila you cook up a great mess.
All in all the overall level of enjoyment and cool designs of bosses and enemies does push the game up to 3 stars but for one of the games I was most hyped to finally play it was a pretty disappointment.
The good : the music, the gorgeous art and the young GOAT warrior cook.
The meh : The battle system which starts off great and does somewhat entertain the entire game by forcing you to time your buttons but ultimately is very stale as most abilities remain the exact same the entire time.
I also add the puzzles here since I somewhat liked them at the start but it turned to just be so many different block puzzles and utilizing the sparse movement tools that you have to reach otherwise unreachable areas.
The bad : By god this story is awful outside of a couple cool moments.
The later parts are just littered with unexplained power-ups, a whole library of JRPG clichés and could in general be described as the most generic story ever written. Top it all off with a weirdly abrupt final boss and sudden ascension to godhood and voila you cook up a great mess.
All in all the overall level of enjoyment and cool designs of bosses and enemies does push the game up to 3 stars but for one of the games I was most hyped to finally play it was a pretty disappointment.
2023
More Blasphemous is always appreciated though I don't think this is necessarily a better game than the first.
Game felt a bit too easy and bosses/areas just didn't hit as hard.
Still enjoyed myself quite a bit and I'm always fiending for a solid metroidvania so I'd certainly recommend this.
Game felt a bit too easy and bosses/areas just didn't hit as hard.
Still enjoyed myself quite a bit and I'm always fiending for a solid metroidvania so I'd certainly recommend this.
2022
Truly a marvel when you consider this was the work of just one guy.
A fun and varied world and an interesting way of doing quests and progression. My only complaint would be that once you found your optimal strategy the combat will become rather stale after a while.
I did feel the burn-out in the later stages of the game and the game is so filled with death and betrayal that Code Geass comes to mind as perhaps a primary inspiration.
Overall I'd say the game is certainly worth it and my just about 40 hours were very well spent.
A fun and varied world and an interesting way of doing quests and progression. My only complaint would be that once you found your optimal strategy the combat will become rather stale after a while.
I did feel the burn-out in the later stages of the game and the game is so filled with death and betrayal that Code Geass comes to mind as perhaps a primary inspiration.
Overall I'd say the game is certainly worth it and my just about 40 hours were very well spent.
2021
Great vibes but probably also not much to remember this game by gameplay-wise. Just a solid fun experience that didn't overstay its welcome.
Certainly not friendly on the eyes though there are flashing lights just about everywhere.
Certainly not friendly on the eyes though there are flashing lights just about everywhere.
2023
I want to preface this by saying that through the first 2 acts this game was in contention with octopath traveler 2 for GOTY. Act 3 is probably the singular worst experience I've had with a game like this.
After hours of buggy quests, questionable storylines/challenges, and losing up to 8 hours of savefile progress after my game crashed and my saves became incompatible I can't even truly recommend this game.
It will suck you in and I mean I cannot truly be upset about around 70 hours of great entertainment. Just beware that as it stands the third act is somewhat unplayable unless you are fortunate enough to dodge all the bugs I've encountered.
After hours of buggy quests, questionable storylines/challenges, and losing up to 8 hours of savefile progress after my game crashed and my saves became incompatible I can't even truly recommend this game.
It will suck you in and I mean I cannot truly be upset about around 70 hours of great entertainment. Just beware that as it stands the third act is somewhat unplayable unless you are fortunate enough to dodge all the bugs I've encountered.
2022
I did spend 20+ hours moderately enjoying the game before realizing I had more fun listening to the podcasts on the side than the actual game. A decidedly mediocre experience deserves the prize of a solid 3/5 and a glowing "meh maybe try it if you're a Pokémon diehard seeking new thrills" recommendation.